The EPA is about to announce that greenhouse gases endanger public health and welfare, something that has in many ways been inevitable since the boneheaded SCOTUS ruling in Mass. vs EPA (which essentially found that the Clean Air Act was always intended to be Kyoto-on-steroids.) With thanks to my colleague Will Yeatman, here's a brief summary of what this means, and why you should be appalled.

Under the Clean Air Act, an endangerment finding means that the EPA will have to grant a waiver to those states (such as California) that want to regulate greenhouse-gas emissions from automobiles. The EPA has already agreed to do so. When pollutants that endanger human health and welfare are regulated, the EPA must expand its regulatory program to include stationary sources. The EPA has already announced that it will do so.

This is where Obama wants to get off the endangerment train, with the ability to regulate stationary and mobile sources (i.e., industry and cars) with almost complete discretion. These endangerment powers give the president tremendous leverage in a number of complex negotiations.

For example, the Obama administration already has told Congress that it will regulate greenhouse gases unless lawmakers deliver a cap-and-trade bill to his desk. The endangerment prerogatives also are the presidents bargaining chip in Copenhagen, where he plans on scoring his first diplomatic victory since his election night.

The problem is that the president can't get off the train where he wants. He simply cant stop what he has started. Under the statutory language of the Clean Air Act, the regulation of mobile sources tripwires regulations for all stationary sources that emit more than 250 tons of a designated pollutant. For greenhouse gases, thats pretty much everything larger than a Gore-sized mansion. These stationary sources would have to get a Prevention of Significant Deterioration permit for any significant modification, as would any new source. They would also have to get operating permits. The upshot is that millions of buildings would be subject to regulations. Small businesses will similarly be affected, as millions of businesses emit that amount of greenhouse gases. Fast-food franchises, apartment blocks, hospitals  you name it  will find themselves subject to EPA bureaucracy.

To get around this, Obamas EPA proposed a tailoring rule that would change the language of the CAA so that the threshold would be 25,000 tons. The legality of this is very much in doubt, as it amounts to the executive branch legislating, and is therefore a violation of the separation of powers.

Also under the Clean Air Act, any pollutant that endangers human health and welfare, and which is regulated for stationary and mobile sources, becomes subject to National Ambient Air Quality Standards. As described above, the Obama administration is in the process of fulfilling all these NAAQS criteria.

Last week, two environmentalist groups petitioned the EPA to regulate greenhouse gases under NAAQS. Soon the EPA will have no choice. Once the NAAQS kicks in  and it will  the American economy is, not to put too fine a point on it, screwed. The government wont be able to permit anything larger than a mansion. Taken to the extent mandated under the Clean Air Act, the EPA would probably have to order the shut-down of most industrial suppliers and users of conventional energy.

Theres only one remedy for this otherwise inevitable regulatory nightmare. The Congress must pass H. R. 391, legislation offered by Rep. Marsha Blackburn (R., Tenn.) that prohibits the EPA from using the Clean Air Act to regulate greenhouse-gas emissions.

To get around this, Obamas EPA proposed a tailoring rule that would change the language of the CAA so that the threshold would be 25,000 tons. The legality of this is very much in doubt, as it amounts to the executive branch legislating, and is therefore a violation of the separation of powers.

Also under the Clean Air Act, any pollutant that endangers human health and welfare, and which is regulated for stationary and mobile sources, becomes subject to National Ambient Air Quality Standards. As described above, the Obama administration is in the process of fulfilling all these NAAQS criteria.

Last week, two environmentalist groups petitioned the EPA to regulate greenhouse gases under NAAQS. Soon the EPA will have no choice. Once the NAAQS kicks in  and it will  the American economy is, not to put too fine a point on it, screwed. The government wont be able to permit anything larger than a mansion. Taken to the extent mandated under the Clean Air Act, the EPA would probably have to order the shut-down of most industrial suppliers and users of conventional energy.

“Theres only one remedy for this otherwise inevitable regulatory nightmare. The Congress must pass H. R. 391, legislation offered by Rep. Marsha Blackburn (R., Tenn.) that prohibits the EPA from using the Clean Air Act to regulate greenhouse-gas emissions.”

Even if they manage to pass the regulations they want, “regulations” can be litigated, and will be. As with any so called, “climate treaty”, we will never allow them to go into effect.

ABC News Correspondent Jake Tapper is reporting on an internal Obama administration memo to the EPA. The memo is warning that regulation under the clean air act will damage the economy, especially small business and communities.

That nine-page memo voices a concern that EPA is making a finding based on (1) harm from substances that have no demonstrated direct health effects, such as respiratory or toxic effects, (2) available scientific data that purports to conclusively establish the nature and extent of the adverse public health and welfare impacts are almost exclusively from non-EPA sources, and (3) applying a dramatically expanded precautionary principle.
If the EPA goes forward with a finding of endangerment for all six greenhouse gases, the document warns, it could be establishing a relaxed and expansive new standard for endangerment. Subsequently, EPA would be petitioned to find endangerment and regulate many other pollutants for the sake of the precautionary principle (e.g., electromagnetic fields, perchlorates, endocrine disruptors, and noise).

Posted May 12th, 2009 at 3.39pm in Energy and Environment, Ongoing Priorities.
EPA Holds Smoking Gun Memo from the White House
VIDEO at link
Today I exposed a smoking gun White House memo to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). The memo warns that regulation of small CO2 emitters will have serious economic consequences for businesses and the overall economy. I was questioning EPA Administrator Lisa Jackson during the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee budget hearing.

I received the memo this morning, thats marked Deliberative: Attorney-Client Privilege. In this memo Counsel for the White House repeatedly, repeatedly suggests a lack of scientific support for this proposed finding. This is a smoking gun, saying that the EPA findings were political and not scientific.

The EPA has failed to release the memo and has ignored the advice.

The nine-page White House memo undermines the EPAs reasoning for a proposed finding that greenhouse gases are a danger to public health.

This misuse of the Clean Air Act will be a trigger for overwhelming regulation and lawsuits based on gases emitted from cars, schools, hospitals and small business. This will affect any number of other sources, including lawn mowers, snowmobiles and farms. This will be a disaster for the small businesses that drive America.

To quote from the memo to the EPA, making the decision to regulate carbon dioxide under the Clean Air Act for the first time is likely to have serious economic consequences for regulated entities throughout the US economy, including small businesses and small communities.

The memo is an amalgamation of findings from government agencies sent from the Office of Management and Budget to the EPA.

This smoking gun memo is in stark contrast to the official position presented by the Administration and the EPA Administrator.

Despite the findings in the memo, the White House has given the EPA the green light to move ahead with regulation under the Clean Air Act.

According to government records, the document was submitted by the OMB as comment on the EPAs April proposed finding that greenhouse gases are a danger to public health and welfare.

The memo - marked as Deliberative-Attorney Client Privilege - doesnt have a date or a named author. But an OMB spokesman confirmed to news agencies that it was prepared by Obama administration staff.

BACKGROUND: The White House brief questions the link between the EPAs scientific technical endangerment proposal and the EPAs political summary. Administrator Jackson said in the endangerment summary that scientific findings in totality point to compelling evidence of human-induced climate change, and that serious risks and potential impacts to public health and welfare have been clearly identified 

The White House memo notes, the EPA endangerment technical document points out there are several areas where essential behaviors of greenhouse gases are not well determined and not well understood.

It warns about the adequacy of the EPA finding that the gases are a harm to the public when there is no demonstrated direct health effects, and the scientific data on which the agency relies are almost exclusively from non-EPA sources.

The memo contends that the endangerment finding, if finalized by the administration, could make agencies vulnerable to litigation alleging inadequate environmental permitting reviews, adding that the proposal could unintentionally trigger a cascade of regulations.

The views expressed by guest bloggers on the Foundry do not necessarily reflect the views of the Heritage Foundation.

9
posted on 12/07/2009 10:21:57 AM PST
by Matchett-PI
("The Role of Government is to Secure Our Liberty, Not to Seize It" ~ Rush 6/26/09)

We’re done- We’re finished- the LIES have won, and the TRUTH has lost- with htis announcement, there is absolutely nothign that can be doen to stop this fraud- I’ve said right along that now that it has been discovered that ‘man-caused global wamring’ is a criminal fraud, that they were simply goign to change their wording to now say ‘CO2 is a pollutant which we must act now to reverse’ before ‘it’s too late to reverse it’

The EPA now has the legal power to enforce laws, and to extract taxes and fines, to control CO2 because it is now concidered a ‘dangerous greenhouse gas’, and it doesn’t matter if the earth warms, cools, or remains the same- they feel it’s their duty to enforce laws taxes and fines to control the gas- it’sa no logner about ‘climate change’, and is now only about ‘pollution control’

These freaking criminals have suceeded in scamming us all- defrauding us of trillions of dollars- all based on a lie that CO2 creates and environmental crisis that ‘needs to be fixed imediately’ accordign to hteir alarmism- I knew damn well these criminals were just simply goign to change the wordign to ‘pollution control’ to keep their criminal fraud alive

[[To get around this, Obamas EPA proposed a tailoring rule that would change the language of the CAA so that the threshold would be 25,000 tons. The legality of this is very much in doubt, as it amounts to the executive branch legislating, and is therefore a violation of the separation of powers.]]

It doesn;’t matter if it’s a violation of hte seperation of powers- this administration is continually violating the constitution because he knows he can, because he knows noone will seriously stand up against it- by all rights, he shoudl be immediately thrown out of office for violating his sworn duty and oath of office to proetect us from these kinds of fraudulent acts, and the democrats shopuld be immediately thrown out of office for failing to represent our best itnerests by scamming us- criminal charges shoudl be filed, and the government sued for deriliction of duty and engagign in a criminal act agaisnt hte people

But nope- NOONE is goign to stop these criminals, and so they don’t really care whether somethign is agaisnt hte law or not

Time to use the tactics of the left in a big, big way. SUE the bastards in every way and every how....and if that fails, SUE ‘EM AGAING..pullout all of the stops...tie them up in legal hassles forever...this CANNOT stand!!

Taken to the extent mandated under the Clean Air Act, the EPA would probably have to order the shut-down of most industrial suppliers and users of conventional energy.

I hope that's exactly what they do because it's the only way we'll get most of the drones to snap out of it. The hardcore ones will hold a party, no doubt, but the rest will wake up to see how much damage is being done. It's absurd that it would take something like that, but obviously they aren't seeing it yet so stronger measures are called for.

22
posted on 12/07/2009 10:41:27 AM PST
by Dahoser
(The missus and I joined the NRA. Who says Obama can't inspire conservatives?)

‘Critics, such as the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, say the endangerment declaration could spark a cascade of litigation and regulation that could harm the economy.’
And a big time payoff for a bunch of dirty socialist trial lawyers.

Unfortunately this is necessary for landslides in ‘10 and ‘12, should the GOP actually get serious about being the opposition party. The hardcore lefties/0bamabots will never accept reality b/c to to so would be to admit their own failures and lies. But a solid 55% majority will reject this if given the chance.

26
posted on 12/07/2009 10:46:51 AM PST
by Lou Budvis
(Almost time to warm-up the SUV for the drive to Galt's Gulch.)

The chief industrial and energy businesses in America -- the ones hit hardest by the new EPA ruling -- will now lobby for passing of the Cap-and-Trade bill. Why? Because if it now passes, they won't be the ONLY industries penalized by the EPA ruling. All other industries and businesses will be penalized too, which in effect levels out the playing field.

Obama and the EPA know this. This ruling is, basically, EXTORTION!!!!

Watch: the energy industry will now have a financial reason to support Cap-and-Trade.

27
posted on 12/07/2009 10:48:03 AM PST
by Flycatcher
(God speaks to us, through the supernal lightness of birds, in a special type of poetry.)

Me either- I ran a website for several years refuting ‘man-caused’ global warming, and I finally gave up in complete frustration knowing that we were never going to win the war against the climate criminals- I had a small spark of hope when climategate broke, thinking that finally, the world could not ignore the FACT that man is NOT to blame for cyclical wamring trends, and that the climate criminals were LYING all along- but my hopes were dashed to pieces once again when I realized right off the bat that these criminals were simply going to change the wording from ‘man-caused global warming’ to ‘man-caused pollution’ and that they were STILL going to enforce laws taxes and fines to ‘fix’ the ‘problem’- thus continuing hteir LIES and FRAUD unabated and unfettered.

Angry and frustrated- knowing there is nothign we are goign to be able to do to stop these criminals

WASHINGTON  U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Lisa P. Jackson will make a significant climate announcement at a press briefing TODAY, December 7. The media briefing will be held at U.S. EPA Headquarters at 1200 Pennsylvania Avenue, N.W., Washington, D.C.

[[I hope that’s exactly what they do because it’s the only way we’ll get most of the drones to snap out of it.]]

They aren’t goign to shut down these businesses- they are simply goign to impose heavy fiens and taxes and ‘carbon credits’, and these businesses will simply go right along with it without resisting liek they have been for a long time now- because they know they are powerless to stop the government from ruining their business- Big business to the government is ghe ‘root of all evil’ and our government will make htem pay for their suppsoed ‘environmental sins’

as well financial institutions are ALL onboard with htis collossal criminal fraud because they are the oens that are goign to be handling al lthe money extorted from businesses in the form of hte carbon credits- these financial institutions stand to make massive massive profits from this criminal fraud, and there is NO WAY the government and the financial institutions are EVER goign to let this fraud die the death it deserves to die.

Don't forget to feed the political angle in to the equation - those that fall in line with "the party" will get breaks, perhaps even some perks for those showing some especial ideological fervor, while those who are not quite with the program should expect a clobbering.

This Gov. is moving so fast that it’s becoming difficult keeping up. I’ve never made so many phone calls, e-mails etc. to oppose this onslaught. Of course thinning out the opposition and keeping us on the run is a war tactic.

Don’t know if I’m madder at those who are moving this agenda to destroy our country or those who are in position to do something about it.

“SUE the bastards” will not work. They own the courts, they own congress, they own the White House, and they own the media. We now have people voting who have been spoon feed the man made global warming BS since they were born. No amount of facts will change their mind. It would be like telling a born again Christian there is no God.

“Angry and frustrated- knowing there is nothign we are goign to be able to do to stop these criminals”

Oh, I don’t know about that. Remember something that begins with the words: “When in the course of human events....”

I think that document is being dusted off and seriously studied. There are still some patriots in this country, and they are realizing — though, kind of late in the game, but still with some time on the clock — that we are pretty much at the point where it will be necessary to “pledge...our lives, our fortunes, our sacred honor,” and embark on the road to recovering America and restoring its promise of freedom and liberty.

Count me in.

44
posted on 12/07/2009 12:37:35 PM PST
by ought-six
( Multiculturalism is national suicide, and political correctness is the cyanide capsule.)

Taken to the extent mandated under the Clean Air Act, the EPA would probably have to order the shut-down of most industrial suppliers and users of conventional energy.

The NRO article does not cite what part of the Clean Air Act would force the EPA to shut down users of conventional energy. Why couldn't they choose to regulate the "big" energy users and choose not to regulate the "smaller" ones, at least not right away? (Why would they choose not to regulate smaller users? To avoid an economic crash that would hurt Dems politically.)

But even in that case, that regulation would still raise electric, natural gas, and gasoline prices.

I am hoping this will be another negative for the Dems in Nov. next year.

45
posted on 12/07/2009 12:45:59 PM PST
by ding_dong_daddy_from_dumas
(Joe Wilson said "You lie!" in a room full of 500 politicians. Who was he talking about?)

[[Dont know if Im madder at those who are moving this agenda to destroy our country or those who are in position to do something about it.]]

I’m with you on that- those who are in a position to stop it who do nothing (essentially nothing- lawsuits shoudl be immediately filed, investigations demanded, and the point shoudl be made absolutely clear that these criminal fraudsters do NOT have the evidence to mandate ANY taxes, fines, Carbon credit mandates etc, and an immediate cease and disist order shoudl be given UNTIL they can scientifically PROVE once and for all, beyond any doubt, that man is to blame- The fact is that they can NOT prove it, and there is absolutely NO proof that man caused warming- I am equally angry at those who are in positions to fully expose and stop this madness aren’t takign hte appropriate measures to put an end to htis once and for all- it’s just like the RINOS who compromise with democrats and betray their constituents- this is a VERY serious issue, and those in positions to stop this fraud are NOT takign it seriously, and we are all paying hte price-

Our congress shoudl demand that obama boycott copenhagen because there isn’t ANY evidence to support the claims that man is to blame, and there is NO WAY we should be saddling the citizens and busiensses with this financial burden that wil lbe based on a lie- The fact is that ‘man-caused’ global warming is a LIE- and noone seems to be takign the appropriate measures to stop this blatant lie in it’s tracks— all they’re doing is criticising the evidnece, and hoping that the democrats and con artists wil lgo “Golly, maybe we’ve been duped, and should look into htis before takign anymore action’

This is NOT goign to happen- EVER! and the ONLY way to stop this fraud is to take serious legal action to stop it- those who perpetrated this fraud shoudl be shaking i ntheir boots for gettign caught scamming we the people, but instead, they know they are imune from prosecution, and that nothign serious will be doen agaisnt them, and they throw their fraud in our face and essentially tell us ‘screw you all- we’re doign whatever we want[’

[[Review American history and re-think what you’re saying. There are solutions. ]]

Yes there are solutions- however, look back over the last few decades- noone is willing to take hte necessary actions to stop this fraud- we’ve just been accepting whatever mandates cognress imposes on us, and just been hoping it ‘doesn’t get much worse’- little by little, they’ve been chipping away at us, and we simply take it. I don’t beleive that even if we get socked with copenhagen mandates that it wil lbe enough to motivate enough peopel to stand up agaisnt this fraud

[[Be careful. When I posted similar comments on FR, I was criticized.]]

Well, I understand that people don’t want to cede that it’s over, and hope that somethign can still be done- but this last blow fro mthe EPA declaring CO2 a poison, and dangerous, is the final blow- this fraud most likely can’t be stopped now- we had a chance when they were claiming man was to blame for warming, because hte evidence did NOT support the claims, however, now that the terminology has been changed, we can’t really argue that too much CO2 causes problems, because it does- and they will use this to clobber us into submission because we don’t really have a concrete argument to coutner it- all we can do is state that CO2 levels aren’t anywhere near the ‘crisis level’ that they claim, but we’ll simpyl be ignored, just like al lthe scientists who spoke out against ‘man-caused global warming’ were ignored all those years- We had IPCC scientists coming out and telling us it was a lie, and noone listened- none of hte policy makers listened-

well if it comes to that I’m in too- however, it has to be more of an effort than a bunch of loosely organized civilian militias or movements in order to be truly effective-

We the people could stop this IF we had the will to do so peacefully by banding together and refusing to pay the extortion fees imposed on us- but it would take businesses all across the coutnry banding together, comitting to NOT working, and being one massive strike- refuse to do busienss until our government begins to listen to we the people for once i ntheir life- instead of tryign to ram through their socialist agenda

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